Fred - Softcover

Posy Simmonds is a cartoonist and a children's book author and illustrator. She drew the cartoons Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe for the Guardian for many years, both of which were published as books, and the latter adapted into a movie. Her book Fred was filmed as Famous Fred, and nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film.

Kindergarten-Grade 3 Fred, Sophie and Nick's old cat, has died, and the children bury him in the backyard. That night they are awakened by a large group of cats who have come to pay their last respects to ``Famous Fred.'' It seems that old Fred, a prodigious sleeper by day, was also a famous singer by night, and now his friends and fans wish to give him a proper (albeit noisy) funeral, which they do with gusto. In the morning, several small signs convince the children that the events of the previous night were not a dream. Told in cartoon-like panels of line and crayon with dialogue (sometimes in bold print) in balloons, this is an offbeat tale which veers toward the macabre on occasion, and it is difficult to determine its focus. There is not enough depth of feelings to use it as a tool in comforting a grieving pet-owner, yet there isn't enough humorexcept for highlighting the differences between cats and peopleto justify that aspect as the premise for the story. In addition, Nick's lapses into baby talk are annoying, particularly as he appears to be well out of the toddler stage and has an otherwise adept vocabulary. Marginally amusing, but this is one you can put outside at nightwith the cat. Kathleen Brachmann, Highland Park Public Library, Ill.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.